Relationship between Self-Esteem and Self-Consciousness in Adolescents: An Eye-Tracking Study
Eun Seong Kim1,2, Yeon-Ju Hong1, Minwoo Kim3
1Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Objective:
Self-esteem and self-consciousness are important determinants of behaviors. This study aimed to explore the relationship between self-esteem and self-consciousness in adolescents using the eye-tracking measurement.
Methods:
Fifty-five adolescents with high self-esteem and 58 adolescents with low self-esteem participated in self-consciousness-related eye-tracking experiments of selecting happy, disgusted, and angry facial emotions while recognizing one's own usual expressions and the others' usual expressions toward oneself.
Results:
When recognizing one's own, adolescents with high self-esteem showed significantly more selection counts and longer fixation time for 'happy' than adolescents with low self-esteem. When recognizing the others', adolescents with low self-esteem showed significantly more selection counts and longer fixation time for 'disgusted' and 'angry' than adolescents with high self-esteem.
Conclusion:
These suggest higher self-esteem is connected to more positive identification of one's usual expressions and others' usual expressions toward oneself. There is a close relationship among low self-esteem, suppressing positive emotions, decreased psychological adjustment, and increased negative emotions.
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